This is a fictionalized version of the film The General which depicts the life of famous Dublin criminal, Martin Cahill. Here the emphasis is put on the 'ordinary decent' part of the criminal. Here Cahill (Lynch) doles out good advice to his children: "Waste not, want not," and "don't call the Garda (police) pigs … and don't trust them." And yet, he steals for a living, justifying every theft as justice for the every-man. Thinking they are fundamentally unjust, he begins to delight in making the Garda look stupid. He pushes the Garda so far with his exploits that they inturn, break the rules to catch him – making them criminals.